by Joe Fielder
Next Tuesday is The Lonely Wild's final residency night at LaBrie's in Glendale and the supporting acts include Wires in the Walls and Escalator Hill -- which means it's a damn good night for folks who appreciate Americana rock and free new music.
We spoke with opener Escalator Hill about their plans for the night, their recent recording of their upcoming album, and oh so much more.
How long have you been together now? How did you all meet?
Escalator Hill has been in existence now for nearly one full year in some form or another. I had first starting playing with the idea that I was going to write songs for a unformed project that was to be called Escalator Hill in winter of 2009.
Come January of 2010, I met Nancy Kuo through a mutual friend who introduced us based solely on the fact that we both play musical instruments. Nancy was relatively new to the Los Angeles area and was looking for some folks to jam out with.
Eventually, after a hearty game of phone tag, we had set up a day to jam. I knew Taylor from work and asked him to come in and play bass. We also started playing with Ryan Ross and Andrew Schneider (of the Lonely Wild) for awhile who I knew back from the days I used to drum for You Me and Iowa. At first we had no drummer, so I ended up juggling drums, guitar and singing together.
After awhile, we parted ways with Ryan Ross and went to the ever reliable Craig's list where we found Ryan Selan, who with his jazz drumming background made a great fit for the band. James Kirby, our most recent addition to the collective was another Craig's list applicant. After he auditioned it was clear that we didn't need to hold anymore. Which was fortunate for us, since Andrew Schneider who recorded and played with us for the past year has big shoes to fill. (Literally, I think he's a size 12).
What brought you to LA?
I came to Los Angeles to play music. I went to school at UCI. While I was there I started playing in You Me and Iowa, after I graduated I decided to move to LA to see where the project would go. Eventually after six years of rocking the band disbanded and I was left with a decision; I decided to stick it out and give something else a try.
I have always been a fan of the unconventional growing up. And although my main musical influences may not be so glaringly apparent, I'm certain they affect the way I think about and write music. I listened to a lot of Mr. Bungle and the Melvins...I mean a lot. Having said that, the music sounds probably closer to Mumford and Sons than anything else I've heard. If it were a recipe It may look something like this:
Escalator Hill
- 2 cups of mumford and sons
- 1 cup of Neutral Milk Hotel
- 1/2 cup of Arcade Fire
- a few pinches of Neil Young and Allman Brothers
- add one tablespoon of Debussy, one teaspoon Django Reinhardt
Let cool and enjoy.
How did you end up working with David Newton on your upcoming EP ?
I knew Dave Newton because You Me and Iowa had recorded The Adventures of You Me and Iowa with him. I was really happy with his approach to producing and recording. Since I thought that record sounded great, I wanted to give Dave a call to see if he would be interested in working with Escalator Hill. I sent him a recording of a couple tracks we did in our rehearsal space, and soon we were in the studio.
How did the recording go? What was your favorite song out of the sessions?
We had intended on recording an EP, but as it happened Taylor and Ryan breezed through their tracking and at the end of one day of recording had successfully tracked ten tunes! The recording process was as I remembered it, efficient and thorough. Before long the tracking was done. Capsize was fun to record...and a little challenging because of the time signature change and tempo change in the middle of the song. I was excited when we finally finished it. Jupiter is definitely another highlight for me, with some appropriate arranging by Nancy and guest performance by Ryan Ross who was kind enough to come in and lay down some rocking trumpet.
When is the album out?
We are looking to release our Album "Poplar Avenue" sometime in July or early August, but we will definitely have something for people to listen to up before that.
What do you have planned for next Tuesday?
Next Tuesday will be fun for us, for we will be introducing James Kirby on guitar and at the same time giving a fond farewell to Andrew Schneider who will be doing a few tunes with us. Also, Ryan Ross may grace the stage with some trumpeting madness! We may have another guest performer as well, but I shouldn't even be talking about it!
What is next for you?
Escalator Hill has a busy few months coming up. Our main focus will be on promoting "Poplar Avenue," However we do have a mini southwest tour booked for May, we will be playing a few shows in Arizona and then heading to my favorite place, Las Vegas... if the band can find me by the time the show comes around we'll be playing there the night of the18th. When we come back we will be playing at Villain's Tavern on May 27th! August We're planning another tour, this time the northwest. Please check the website for details on album release and pre-orders/upcoming shows!
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